The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has granted a right-of-way lease for a pipeline to support ExxonMobil’s planned Point Thomson project.

It’s the second major authorization the company has secured recently for the eastern North Slope project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Oct. 26 issued a permit for construction affecting wetlands.

ExxonMobil plans to lay a 22-mile above-ground pipeline over state land, parallel to the Beaufort Sea coast, to tie Point Thomson production into the existing North Slope oil pipeline network. The 12-inch Point Thomson Export Pipeline will have a design capacity of 70,000 barrels per day.

The right-of-way lease is good for 30 years.

ExxonMobil has said it wants to begin construction on the Point Thomson project this winter, with first production to come in the winter of 2015-16. The company plans to produce natural gas condensate, a light hydrocarbon liquid.

Other major stakeholders in the Point Thomson field include BP and ConocoPhillips.

—Wesley Loy

See story in Nov. 11 issue, available online on Friday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. at www.PetroleumNews.com